Homer Winter King Derby results

Great video! Thanks again to everyone who provided advice and recommendations to me on Saturday!

My lessons learned:
1. Bring a VHF radio so I can hear where/when fish are caught! I was wondering where all the kayakers went during the fish catching frenzy by the "Can"!

And more importantly, for safety (as demonstrated by Kat).

2. Brine my herring so they stay on, stay bright, and spin for more than 10 minutes...

Take what KK said to the bank.  That guy knows brines.

3. Purchase a peddle drive and save the paddle yak for times when friends visit... my hands and back are just beginning to unclench after over 5 hours of trolling with a paddle yak; often against the wind and current.

I stuck things out in my paddle kayak for about three months after moving up here before I had a Hobie on order.  In such a troll-oriented fishery as ours, there is just no substitute for pedal power. 

I'm glad you had a safe day out on the water.  Welcome to the Alaska plastic navy!

3. Purchase a peddle drive and save the paddle yak for times when friends visit... my hands and back are just beginning to unclench after over 5 hours of trolling with a paddle yak; often against the wind and current.

FYI to any and all, just got a note from Mark at Alaska Raft & Kayak after inquiring about any Sportsmans Show specials he may be running next weekend.

He will be knocking off $125 on the price of kayaks and offering a 10% discount on all accessories. I would assume that means upgrades to the boat as well as suits and other equipment. I'll find out for sure.

My 2¢ - although the Propel is a great innovation to compete with the Mirage Drive for those anglers braving surf conditions in their quest for adventure, the Mirage Drive allows you to leave the gear in the water and flatten it against the hull if you want for a landing. It appears you would have to pull the Propel unit before you hit the shallows which in rough conditions could leave you a bit more vulnerable. Don't know, don't have one.

The propel pops up when it impacts something.  At least the one I saw did.

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Klondike kid,
Thank you for the advice! The Standard Horizon HX-870 sure has a lot of features...between the SPOT messenger, Helix 5, smart phone, and headlamp my kayak takes a lot of batteries as it is....I'll put it on my wish list though. I think I was staying hydrated...the 5 "restroom" breaks during the torment are testament to that...need to find a way to pee out of my dry suit in my yak in rolling seas without a mess.... seriously, staying hydrated is a two edged sword when fishing close to a mile from shore - even at my age. Also, can't wait to get to brining!  I've already got a tray of "Size Green" Herring in the garage freezer to try it on (since I forgot them when I left at 0330 Thursday morning for Homer and had to buy more in Soldotna).

AKFishOn -  Ice fishing with the kids this weekend and then moving "local" through at least next weekend - new paint, flooring, etc.... by the middle of April I'll be ready to get into the Salt again!

Low_Sky - I'll stick it out in my "Ocean Kayak" for this summer anyway - unless someone wants to sell a used peddle yak cheap...setting up a new yak will give me something to do after trapping season winds down next year!

The propel pops up when it impacts something.  At least the one I saw did.

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How far did it pop up?  The propel drives I have seen, the propeller needed to be perfectly aligned to get it out of the water.  And shear pin replacement videos I have seen doesn't seem to do anything about popping the drive back up.  I am not even sure what it does other than maybe saves you a prop because the power disengages from the propeller.  That's ok for a rotating prop to be saved when it hits, but its not going to do anything when a rock hits the front of the drive while its down.  Am I missing something? 


I have been telling folks with propel drives not to run shallow rivers that I can run with Hobies because it sure looks like the Hobies have a lot less draft (when fluttered or pinned up and paddling).  I don't want to be wrong if its not true. 

As a Propel owner, that is one of its limitations. I hit a rock bar at about 5 mph (doing a speed test) on a lake I'd never fished. The drive popped up, but not far enough to clear the rocks. And the prop does have to be aligned to fully clear the hull.  A positive is the Slayer Propel paddles well, skinny water, no problem

...setting up a new yak will give me something to do after trapping season winds down next year!

.... by the middle of April I'll be ready to get into the Salt again!

Ah, you probably know a good online friend of mine, Flattail, aka Al Spencer, the prez of the trapping association up your way. Great guy. Lots of respect for him. Looking forward to meeting up with him some day, maybe at Eklutna Tailrace where he hangs out during the king run.

Middle of April is 2 weeks away. Better get that transmission in high gear, its gonna be on you....and all of us in a few blinks of an eye. The only bummer is April 1st goes to the summer 5 Cook Inlet king limit which puts a serious crimp in what fish to keep. Doesn't take long to tap out and then you hook into that 60 pounder you have to release. Well to circumvent that I'll be fishing at least one proxy for an elder, but to have a few others lined up will at least provide insurance for more fishing time and food on the table for others. Kardinal_84 knows all about that strategy!  Heheh

Matt's shrimp eating kings prompted me into buying a rush order from China. Came in today. Using a light gauge spreader with two of these back bouncing the bottom drifting with the tide just might turn the trick....or end up CnR a million pollock and flounders. Can't have enough tackle....ever!  This will be tried for trolling Res Bay sockeye in late May and maybe along the Deep Creek beach during the red run. I am DETERMINED before I die to crack the Da Vinci Code for catching saltwater sockeye...consistently. Adak Jeff out on the Aleutian Chain discovered a technique to limit his boat in saltwater every day.   I'm anxious to try that with the kayak as it affords more access to the beaches than a power boat.


Gonna be a late spring for Kenai king fishing. Shot today off the Soldotna Bridge. No sign of Spring!

Klondike Kid,
It is a small world! I'm the Vice Pres of that same association - Alaska Frontier Trappers Association. I'll try to get Al out on a Kayak one of these days.

Regarding the 5 king limitation...what's the feeder fishing like in Valdez?  Know they have a great Pink and Silver fishery but what about Kings in the Spring there? Valdez is 5 hours from here - same distance to Homer.

I love my propel and have had an issue coming in or leaving through the surf, when the waves are up I sit to upright to peddle and have paddle in my hand. When it's calm I just have the drive down when I get in the boat and just come in with a good kick and pull the drive up about 15 yards from shore.

Sportsmans wharehouse is now carrying the Old Town Predator PDL pedal drive yak, there is already two sold and one more on the way. If you're interested give the valley location a call and ask for Shaun in the camping section he orders all the boats.

Rdrash,
I'm going to test drive a number of peddle drives before purchasing one. I've got a kayak so I can take my time upgrading and get exactly what fits me best. In the meantime I'll  read up on the Predator PDL...

It is a small world! I'm the Vice Pres of that same association - Alaska Frontier Trappers Association. I'll try to get Al out on a Kayak one of these days.

Regarding the 5 king limitation...what's the feeder fishing like in Valdez?  Know they have a great Pink and Silver fishery but what about Kings in the Spring there? Valdez is 5 hours from here - same distance to Homer.

I thought I smelled some beaver castor!    Speaking of Flattail, last fall he alerted me to a Craigslist post of I believe a PA 12 that was a very very good price for its hardly used condition. I almost jumped on it even though I'd only had my Outback for a couple of months. HA. As I said it was a bargain hard to pass up. Kick myself in the butt now!  I think Al was kinda eyeballing it too. So he may be in the market for one with a little encouragement.

I'm not up on the feeders at Valdez but perhaps Rudy has some insight. I recall he was over their during coho season working the zone between the beach anglers and the charter trollers and hitting some silvers.

There is a king return in Whittier that is not part of the 5 fish regs. Its a stocked fishery provided by ADFG. They stock around 100,000 smolt each year. At 2% return that would be 2,000 fish. Double that for 4% survival.  Fish return right there around the harbor and end of the bay. But with the current disappearing kings the returns haven't been very stellar the past few years much like the returns for the Res Bay stocked kings. Which does bring up another unregulated alternative - the weekly ADFG fishing report for Res Bay/Seward frequently mentions boats trolling around town and around the bay catching feeder kings. Not much is known about that population as there is not near the participation in the fishery compared to what Homer has. But I don't see why it couldn't be as productive. The environment has plenty of protein in the food chain as confirmed by whales overwintering in that region too.  And for those of you in the Valley and Anchorage its hop, skip, and a jump from home. And its an ice free bay like Kbay too.

Just got the final tally for the cash prizes and value of all the non-cash awards.

• Winter King Tournament Champion Ron Johnson of Homer, won $53,528.25 with a 25.65 lb. White King. (Includes side bets)
• Second place went to Gino Del Frate with 25.10lb king on the Big Dawg with combined winnings totaling $18,636.00.
• Gary Deiman took 3rd place with a 24.30lb king on the Noah James, winning $8,307.75

The 2017 tournament had 1007 anglers, 299 boats, and 12 kayaks landing 216 fish.
• The payout this year for the top-ten winners was $56,643.75.
• The Boat Side Bet payout totaled $47,006.25 and with a total payout in all categories of $103,650.00!
• The eleventh through twentieth place winners shared in fishing related merchandise valued at over $9,000.00.
• Merchandise prizes given out over the VHF radio every ten minutes were generously donated by local and national businesses valued at over $17,000.00

So the total $$$ value this year was ≈$129,649.  Last year's record breaking tournament was $162,000.

[UPDATE: Ron Johnson First Place cash total winnings changed from $48K to $53,000 on a correction issued.]

AKfishon you said you love your propel drive and I could see advantages to it in fishing around a dock or right in front of rock piles without having to pull the 180 drive cord, how is it speed wise when compared to the mirage drive. Also is the native sturdier on the water than an outback, after looking at the slayer models I noticed it being lighter  but a decreased weight capacity of 75 lbs from the outback.  How is the storage on it, can you get most of what you need in front of you without a hatch at your feet and the rails on the side? On the outback you can't put anything under the seat in the low position (or at least I can't) does your seat have the room for storage?  I know this is a forum about the winter king derby so I apologize, but I have not been able to talk to anyone in person who owns one.  I am a gear nut who is always on the lookout.     

AKfishon you said you love your propel drive and I could see advantages to it in fishing around a dock or right in front of rock piles without having to pull the 180 drive cord, how is it speed wise when compared to the mirage drive. Also is the native sturdier on the water than an outback, after looking at the slayer models I noticed it being lighter  but a decreased weight capacity of 75 lbs from the outback.  How is the storage on it, can you get most of what you need in front of you without a hatch at your feet and the rails on the side? On the outback you can't put anything under the seat in the low position (or at least I can't) does your seat have the room for storage?  I know this is a forum about the winter king derby so I apologize, but I have not been able to talk to anyone in person who owns one.  I am a gear nut who is always on the lookout.     

I can hit close to six mph for a good 30-45 minutes and then drop back to a relaxed two mph and literally pedal like that for eight hours. For a load test I put myself in it at 225 pounds and whatever the weight of my dry suit and vest is and then had a buddy that is every bit of 270 sit behind me and I was still four or five inches above the water and able to pedal around and steer.  I've also taken my kids out to the island on finger lake pretty regularly my 9 year old son sitting on the front and my 12 year old daughter in the back well.

 My gear sits right behind the seat back in a soft bag that I keep clipped to the back, I usually have two rods behind me and one on the track next to me in a Scotty style rod holder on an extended arm.  Fish finder and downrigger goes next to my right hip.

I have flipped all that over well over a mile from the beach, at 1 am, by myself fishing alone.  The drive unit makes a nice grab to right the yak even with all the rods in the holders and landing net, nothing was lost and a moved to the back of the boat and came over the stern.  Flat water I stand to take a leak, low rollers or in a chop I go through the drive opening.

Low_Sky - I'll stick it out in my "Ocean Kayak" for this summer anyway - unless someone wants to sell a used peddle yak cheap...setting up a new yak will give me something to do after trapping season winds down next year!

Hobie for sale... I will clean it up and post more pics later today:
https://anchorage.craigslist.org/spo/6065511836.html